April 2011

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items
April 2010 - April 2011

p - pleminary
r - revised

Year-on-Year

• The annual growth rate of the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) in the country accelerated to 10.5 percent in April from 9.6 percent in March. It resulted from higher annual gains in the indexes of the following commodity groups: food, 4.6 percent in April from 4.2 percent in March; beverages and tobacco, 6.6 percent from 6.2 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 72.8 percent from 53.5 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 23.3 percent from 23.0 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 12.8 percent from 11.5 percent; and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 2.9 percent from 2.8 percent. The annual movement in the indexes of machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles remained at their corresponding last month's rates of 1.9 percent and 4.1 percent.
  

• In Luzon, the annual adjustment in the GWPI went up to 11.6 percent in April from 10.5 percent in March. Higher annual rate was observed in food index at 4.7 percent in April from 3.9 percent in March; beverages and tobacco, 7.0 percent from 6.7 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 77.0 percent from 55.9 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 24.6 percent from 24.3 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 16.2 percent from 14.6 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 3.1 percent from 3.0 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, 1.4 percent from 1.2 percent. Meanwhile, a slower annual increment was posted in the index of miscellaneous manufactured articles at 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent.
  

• On the other hand, annual increases in the GWPI in Visayas eased to 9.5 percent in April from 9.7 percent last March. A negative annual rate of -0.4 percent was still seen in chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats index from -0.6 percent. Moreover, a slower annual addition was noted in food index at 7.5 percent from 8.8 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 22.9 percent from 23.4 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent. Meanwhile, a higher annual gain was recorded in crude materials, inedible except fuels index at 69.4 percent from 58.0 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 2.3 percent from 2.0 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent. For three consecutive months, the annual movement in beverages and tobacco index was recorded at 7.7 percent.
  

• In Mindanao, the annual hike in the GWPI decelerated to 1.7 percent in April from 2.1 percent in March. The annual rate in the index of crude materials, inedible except fuels further dropped to -0.5 percent from -0.2 percent. Likewise, slower annual rates were correspondingly posted in the indexes of food and machinery and transport equipment at 0.7 percent and 1.6 percent from their respective last month's rates of 2.5 percent and 1.8 percent. However, a higher annual growth was noticed in beverages and tobacco index at 2.7 percent from 1.7 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 2.3 percent from 0.9 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 1.3 percent from 0.6 percent; and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 2.0 percent from 1.7 percent The annual growth in miscellaneous manufactured articles index remained at 5.4 percent.
  

• By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

  The month-on-month growth of the GWPI at the national level moved at 1.2 percent in April, the same rate posted last month. Higher monthly rate was noted in the index of crude materials, inedible except fuels, 12.6 percent from -11.4 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 1.5 percent from -0.2 percent; and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 0.7 percent from 0.5 percent. The monthly growth in miscellaneous manufactured articles index was at its last month's rate of 0.2 percent. However, a lower monthly rate was registered in beverages and tobacco index at 0.5 percent from 0.8 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 2.8 percent from 6.8 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, 0.1 percent from 0.7 percent. A negative rate was still observed in the food index at -0.5 percent from -0.6 percent.
  

  • Uptick in the prices of copra correspondingly pushed up the crude materials, inedible except fuels index in Luzon and Visayas by 13.6 percent and 7.2 percent. Higher prices of abaca in Luzon also contributed to the uptrend. Meanwhile, a -0.3 percent drop in the group's index in Mindanao was a result of lower prices of firewood in the area. The monthly growth in the Philippines jumped to 12.6 percent from -11.4 percent.
    

  • The index of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats in Luzon picked up to 1.7 percent in April due to price hikes in coconut oil and selected paints during the period. Likewise, a 0.7 percent increment in the group's index in Mindanao was attributed to add-ons in the prices of some fertilizers, paints, washing compounds and other chemical products. In Visayas, higher prices of paints, soap and other washing compounds resulted to a 0.3 percent increment in the group's index. The monthly movement in the group's national index was recorded at 1.5 percent from -0.2 percent.
    

  • From zero growth, a 0.8 percent increase was posted in the manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index in Mindanao as prices of plywood, some construction materials and selected rubber tires went up in the area. Upward adjustments in the prices of cement, angle bars, flat bars, G.I. sheets and other selected construction materials were noticed in Luzon. Hence, the groupsÒ index in the area inched up to 0.7 percent from 0.6 percent. Meanwhile, in Visayas, prices of manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials generally remained stable during the month as the group's index had a zero growth. At the national level, the index moved up to 0.7 percent from 0.5 percent.
    

  • The miscellaneous manufactured articles index went up 0.2 percent in Luzon due to price add-ons in some clothing and selected miscellaneous manufactured articles. Meanwhile, prices of miscellaneous manufactured articles in Visayas and Mindanao generally remained stable during the month. The national index grew by 0.2 percent, the same rate recorded last month.
    

  • The corresponding growths of 3.0 percent and 0.7 percent in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index in Luzon and in Visayas resulted from upward price movements in petroleum products. These were however slower than their respective previous month's rates of 7.2 percent and 6.6 percent. The group's index in Mindanao grew by 1.3 percent from 0.3 percent as higher prices of diesel oil and LPG were noted during the month. At the national level, the group's index moved at a slower rate of 2.8 percent from 6.8 percent.
    

  • Higher monthly change in the index of beverages and tobacco in Mindanao at 0.9 percent from zero growth was attributed to price increments in selected cigarettes during the period. Similarly, prices of some softdrinks and liquor were up in Luzon thereby resulting to a 0.5 percent increment in the group's index. This was however slower than its last month's rate of 0.9 percent. In Visayas, prices of beverages and tobacco generally remained stable during the period as its group's index had a zero growth. These factors raised the group's index in the Philippines by 0.5 percent, slower than the 0.8 percent growth in March.
    

  • The machinery and transport equipment index in Luzon and in the Philippines recorded a 0.1 percent growth in April as prices of some electrical apparatus and fixtures were on an uptrend. Meanwhile, no changes were seen in the prices of machinery and transport equipment in Visayas and Mindanao as their indexes had a zero growth.
    

  • Reduction in the prices of selected fruits and vegetables, fish species, and sugar pushed down the food index in the four areas by -0.5 percent. A price decrease in meat in Luzon also contributed to the downtrend.
    

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    NOTE :

    Revisions of the monthly series from January 2009 to March 2010 were made to incorporate the machinery and equipment rental rates based on the latest updated data from the official source.

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  Source: National Statistics Office
  Manila, Philippines
  
  Page last revised: July 7, 2011